By Callie Welch

Sometimes you just have to go.

At least, that’s what I realized at the ripe age of 18. Growing up in a small town develops you in ways that large cities never could. A 20-minute drive feels like nothing to me, and I know the products that Dollar General carries like the back of my hand. But when it comes to staying in a town with a population of 3,000 past the age of 18, I always felt like that was not really my thing.

Middle Tennessee State University was my fresh start. I knew no one, and no one knew me. Though in-state, I was the only student in my graduating class committing to MTSU. No one else from my middle-of-nowhere town had attended this university in years, either. While the blank slate felt terrifying, the thought excited me more than any other college I had applied to. The choice was obvious when I committed.

(That’s a lie. Here’s a break to thank my sister for convincing me to leave East Tennessee.)

And while I will be the first to admit that starting fresh was hard, I am so glad that I did. While being far from everything I had ever known was hard at times, I don’t regret making that decision at all. In many ways, forcing myself so much out of my comfort zone formed me into the person I am today, and I would like to say that was a good thing.

One of the main reasons I ended up loving MTSU so much was my major. The small program of interactive media became a home away from home. From my very first interactive media class, my professors were passionate about the industry. That passion fueled my drive in every class I took. With classes focused on building real connections, full of hands-on experience, and almost always group projects (which I grew to not mind), I could talk for hours about how I have nothing but love for that program. And how everyone reading this article should be an interactive media major, too.

But during my time here, I did more than go to class. I joined student organizations and even founded one in my freshman year. MTSU REACH, a premier social media organization, became something I lived and breathed for three years. As a student organization, we brought in industry-level guest speakers multiple times a semester, from influencers to companies such as Titans or Shondaland, and we held workshops and became a place to learn.

Leading a student organization taught me a lot, especially when people did not show up. But I was also a tour guide, a media design tutor and a marketing intern at MT Dining. Working for MT Dining was one of the highlights of my undergrad, and while I hated nothing more than having to table surveys, the opportunities that the internship has given me outweigh the few cons.

Aside from working for the best boss, interning for MT Dining has opened more doors on campus than I thought I could be in. With constant opportunities to grow, MT Dining only pushed me further in my career and allowed me to face new challenges head-on.

And finally, I was also a part of the MTSU student social media team, which allowed me to write this lovely article. Working for the MTSU student social media team was a dream come true, as it was a job I wanted from the day I stepped on this campus as a freshman. While it took me a year and a half to achieve that dream, I am thankful I did, as it has been nothing but amazing. Aside from an amazing and thoughtful boss, being able to see the work you created pushed to an audience as large as this is nothing but rewarding, and I am nothing but thankful to be a part of it. My campus involvement is one of the things I hold most dear about my time here at MTSU. Community is where you look for it, and while you do not have to look everywhere, I am glad I did.

Author Callie Welch is a senior interactive media major. She graduated from MTSU’s Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment on Saturday, May 9.